Greek Grilled Cheese {recipe}

April is National Grilled Cheese Month, so we’re celebrating by posting a grilled cheese sandwich every day. This is No. 17. See all of our grilled cheese sandwiches >> here << .

Sometimes, when someone says “grilled cheese,” just those two words, we want to sass back something about “Greek” because that Greek dish called saganaki is the only true “grilled cheese” we’ve ever seen, just a slab of cheese grilled directly in a pan, and say that a grilled cheese sandwich is something else entirely…

Then we get over ourselves.
This is a Greek Grilled Cheese, essentially a Greek salad between two pieces of pita bread that we very wastefully cut into rectangles so it looks more like a regular sandwich. It’s ok. Some of us are getting tax refunds.

Feta cheese is the natural choice here, though it doesn’t even come close to melting, no matter how long you leave the sandwich in the frying pan. For something melty, try something like halloumi, which is one of the types of cheeses we’ve seen in that Greek grilled cheese saganaki. Melty. Toasted. Perfect. Except we couldn’t find any in our local market.

Directions

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a frying pan over medium low heat. Place 2 pieces of pita bread in pan, then carefully arrange slices of feta cheese to cover both pieces of bread. Cook the bread until crisped, golden brown and the cheese is soft (it will not “melt”).

Remove the grilled bread with cheese from the pan. Place sliced tomatoes on one side of bread, then add cucumber slices, red onion, olives, and parsley. Sprinkle with dried oregano, then season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Close/cover the sandwich with the other slice of grilled bread.

Mmmmmm. This is what I woke up to this morning, this post. I want that. If you liked this so much, i would try making this one, or something like it with a goat feta, which though not as salty as greek varieties, tends to warm up and melt quite nicely, without loosing shape. Mt. Sterling co-op out of Wisconsin makes a delicious goat feta that i think you can order online. I don’t usually choose feta over other cheeses, but if i could eat only one cheese for the rest of my life, their feta may be it, no joke.

nik: thanks so much for the recommendation of goat feta! i think i may have seen that at the cheese store, but didnt think about getting it just because i wasn’t familiar… will have to go back to try it!